Smoking articles such as cigarettes are conventionally made by wrapping a column of tobacco in a white wrapping paper. At one end, the smoking article usually includes a filter through which the article is smoked. Filters are attached to smoking articles using a tipping paper which is glued to the white wrapping paper. The wrapping papers and tipping papers used to construct smoking articles are typically made from flax or other cellulosic fibers and can contain a filler, such as calcium carbonate.
When a smoking article is smoked, mainstream smoke is generated that is inhaled through the filter. Mainstream smoke can contain numerous different components that provide the smoking article with a particular taste, which encompasses the sensations detected not only by one's taste but also by one's sense of smell. In order to provide a smoking article with a particular taste, as many as over 500 different ingredients may be added to the tobacco at different levels. In addition to the components of mainstream smoke that contribute to the taste of the smoking article, the mainstream smoke can also contain various other analytes. For example, D. Hoffmann of the American Health Foundation recognized 44 different analytes that may be present in mainstream smoke. These analytes are typically referred to as “Hoffmann analytes” and include, for instance, ammonia, aminonaphthalenes, benzopyrene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, butyraldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, nitrous oxides, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (“TSNAs”), pyridine, quinoline, hydroquinone, phenol, cresols, tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, acrylonitrile, benzene, toluene, styrene, and various others. It has been determined that some Hoffmann analytes may be unwanted in the mainstream smoke from a smoking article. As such, extensive research has been conducted on reducing Hoffmann analytes.
Besides being used to hold smoking articles together, wrapping papers also contribute to and control many physical properties and characteristics of the smoking article. For instance, cigarette wrapping papers affect the rate at which the cigarette burns, the number of puffs per cigarette, tar, various volatile analytes, and the total tar delivery per puff. What is needed, however, is a cigarette wrapping paper that may additionally be used to reduce the amount of at least one Hoffmann analyte in the mainstream smoke of a smoking article, and in particular, to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in the mainstream smoke of a smoking article and/or to improve the taste and enjoyment of the smoking article.